Rookie-laden Blu Girls eye Asiad medal

MANILA, Philippines - A rookie-laden team fresh from the recent Asean Women’s Softball Championship title conquest, hopes to barge into the medal standing in the coming Asian Games November 12-27 in Guangzhou, China.

 The Blu Girls, who retained the Asean crown with aplomb last month by sweeping the four-team, two-round field and yielding only one run in the process, is made up eight veterans of the fourth place team in the last Asian championship three years ago, according to Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines secretary general Danny Francisco.

Asaphil operations manager Jun Veloso said that although nine of the team’s members are first-time Blu Girls, all have earned their seats on the strength of their experience playing for the girls softball World Series in the Little League (11-12), Junior League (13-14), Senior League 14-16 and Big League (16-18) divisions the past decade.

“While Little League play differs from the open competition games, it cannot be said that our present Blu Girls lineup is bereft of international experience,” Veloso said during Friday’s SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura.

The Blu Girls roster is led by catcher Lovelyn Maganda who swept the MVP, best hitter and best sluger honors in the Asean championship held in jakarta last July.

The team has six pitchers, including four Asian championship holdovers Syrel Ramos, Joy Lasquite, Cora Sobere and Dione Macasu and neophytes Julie Marie Muyco and Veronica Belleza.

Sobere is the most senior among the veterans, having played for national teams the last nine years. Other old-timers in coach Ana Santiago’s lineup are Esmeralda Tayag, Sherylou Valenzuela, Sarah Jane Agravante and Maganda.

Playing for the first time as Blu Girls are Alexandra Louise Zuluaga, Elma Parohinog, Marlyn Francisco, Kristine Marie Drilon, Joan Pioquinto, Francisca Altomonte and Anavic Jugos. All have, at one time or another been members of Team Manila in the Big League World Series.   

The Philippines ended up fourth in the last Asian championship behind eventual winner Japan, Chinese Taipei and China and a noptch ahead of South Korea and, according to Francisco, will be eyeing at least a third place finish.

The Japanese, incidentallay are the Beijing Olympics champions while the Taiwanese winding up with the bronze medal behind silver medalist United States.

The team, Francisco, man Friday of Asaphil president Jean Henri Lhuillier, has been training in earnest the past months against the Philippine Bnlu Boys to make up for the Girls lack of international exposure.